


the sweet smell of old cotton and blood

by dare121



Series: Soft Gays of the Apocalypse [3]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, SOFT GAYS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 18:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16045685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dare121/pseuds/dare121
Summary: Ellie, Dina, Joel and their group leave Jackson to scavenge for some supplies.Dina finds something she instantly falls in love with.





	the sweet smell of old cotton and blood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MurtaghArcturus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurtaghArcturus/gifts), [RaneJizzoli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaneJizzoli/gifts).



> this includes prompts that were given to me by MurtaghArcturus and RaneJizzoli months and months and months ago AND I FINALLY FINISHED IT
> 
> hope you dig! ♥

The putrid-smelling blood of the infected splatters across the front of Ellie’s flannel as she brings it down with her machete. She’s usually better at taking them out cleanly, but the damn thing had surprised her by hiding in between two narrow shelves and lumbering out at her just as she’d deemed the bottom floor secure for looting.

“Gross,” Ellie says to herself as she looks down at the shirt. They’ve just started their scavenging mission and now she’ll have to walk around for hours smelling like ass.

“Better luck next time,” Dina says unhelpfully as she lowers her own machete to observe the damage done to Ellie’s clothing. “That’ll need a big scrub once we get back.” She scrunches up her nose at the stench. “Guess that means no more kisses for you until this is dealt with.” She gestures vaguely at Ellie’s front, while Ellie tries to hide her disappointment at her girlfriend’s words.

“I’ve smelled worse,” she says by way of explaining that she wants kisses even in _this_ condition.

The words make Dina snort in amusement. “I don't know how I ever resisted your charms,” she says sarcastically, before reaching up with the sleeve of her jumper to wipe away a spatter of blood on Ellie’s cheek.

“Shut up,” Ellie grumbles, just as they're rudely interrupted by Joel’s sudden appearance at their sides.

“You about done with your squabblin’?” he asks, exasperation masking his clear fondness for them. There is nothing but dispassion as he glances down at the dead infected at Ellie’s feet. “We got work to do.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Joel, sir,” Dina says with a mock-salute, directing a beaming smile at Joel. He can barely keep his stern expression, and Ellie doesn't blame him. It’s entirely unsurprising to her that Dina managed to sneak her way into both of their hearts. She’s too good at that. “I think I’ve picked on Ellie enough for the rest of the day.”

Joel does smile a little at that, and as he turns around to rejoin the others, Ellie hears him mutter, “Fat chance, that.”

They spend the next twenty minutes thoroughly combing the downstairs area _again_ to ensure that there won't be any other surprises. When everything seems as clear as it’s ever going to be, Joel hands Ellie and Dina a list of things they should start looking for and takes the rest of the group up the long-dead escalator.

While Ellie looks down at the list, Dina strolls over to one of the shelves and starts browsing the dusty, disturbed items.

“I wonder what this was for,” she says casually, picking up a strange oblong tube with two bulbous ends. Slowly, she turns it around in her hand, brows wrinkling when it moves with her.

Ellie shrugs.

“Does it have a label?” she asks with only mild interest. She stopped wondering about the odd habits and objects of the old world long ago.

Dina squints down at the old, faded sticker on the white thing in her hand.

“Um… shake weight?” She shrugs as she puts the object back on the shelf. “I don't get it.”

Shrugging again, Ellie looks back down at the list in her hand. “People were fucking weird,” she comments by way of explanation, thinking back to that time Joel tried to convince her there had been trucks driving around for the express purpose of handing out ice cream to affluent children and their easily scammed parents. “First thing on the list are knives for the kitchen.”

“You know, I kind of want to take one of these back to Jackson, but it's really heavy for some reason,” Dina says, her finger tapping against her chin. “Why would anyone want to shake a _weight_?”

Ellie kind of wants to be exasperated with her girlfriend for being so off task, but she’s not sure she knows how. Not when Dina looks so ridiculously adorable in her shake weight conundrum. Before Ellie can repeat her earlier sentiment about what humanity used to be, Dina shrugs.

“So,” she says, snatching the list from Ellie’s fingers like Ellie had been the one stalling, “knives?”

Feeling charmed by her girlfriend’s unapologetic nature, Ellie tips her head down in the pursuit of a sweet kiss, only to have Dina pulling back at the last second. Ellie pouts with disappointment, but she’s pretty sure she sees a trace of mirth in Dina’s reproachful expression.

“No kissing while you're stinky, remember?” Dina says, taking a step back and gesturing again at Ellie’s soaked flannel.

Even though she knows Dina is teasing her, Ellie can't help but frown at her words.

“You're a jerk,” she says, following Dina along the shelves as they try to find the cooking section of the old store.

“And you're a hot pile of garbage,” Dina parrots back at her, her hips swinging with self-satisfaction. Ellie bites back her comment about how _she’d_ kissed Dina during the dance, despite of how terrible everyone had smelled, because they're just about to reach the knife aisle and she doesn't want to detract from the mission again. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised when Dina suddenly veers to the right, but she sort of is.

“ _Dina_ ,” Ellie says with mild exasperation, “Joel’s gonna have my ass if we don't find this shit.” She points at the list in Dina’s hand.

“Relax, babe,” Dina shoots back, her hands running over the most garishly-colored socks Ellie has ever seen. “They probably aren't even done with the sweep yet and they have their own stuff to do.” She picks up a pair of fuzzy electric blue socks with neon-yellow stripes. “These are so _cool_.”

“I think you mean ugly,” Ellie grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Don't be such a hater.” Dina sets down her backpack and starts picking out the socks she wants to take home with her. “What do you think of these?” She holds them up to Ellie, who’s pretty sure her eyes are going to start bleeding from the intensity of the ugliness. The socks are bright pink and littered with big red hearts.

“I feel like I’m about to go blind.” Ellie delivers her words as dead-pan as she can, and yet Dina still smiles like she’s just heard the sweetest compliment.

“I knew you’d love them,” she says, stuffing them into her backpack.

Ellie picks up a pair of plain grey socks. “You know, these will be way less dangerous if we ever have to hide from something.”

With a sigh, Dina closes her backpack and shrugs it back on. “You have no sense of style,” she says reproachfully and shakes her head. “And yet you wonder why I don't kiss you when you're soaked in infected gunk.”

“What does style have to do with that?” Ellie asks with considerable confusion as she follows Dina along the sock aisle until they reach the underwear section. Thankfully, Dina seems too distracted by something else to notice the matching electric blue panties to the pair of socks she bagged just a few minutes ago.

When her girlfriend doesn't deign to answer her question, Ellie has half a mind to hug her to her chest so they can share the gunk. But something catches her eye when they round a particularly garish rack of neon pink and yellow underpants.

“Sweet,” Ellie breathes as she passes Dina. Before her, a paradise opens up, making her chest feel full with gentle excitement as she tears off her flannel. She ignores Dina’s appreciative whistle when her t-shirt follows next. Although she does enjoy the indignant squeak that Dina lets out when Ellie throws the soaked shirt directly at her face.

With her chest bare safe for her bra, Ellie grabs the first ocean blue t-shirt she sees. It’s soft to the touch despite its age and she pulls it on without hesitation.

It’s just a little big on her, but when she catches a glimpse of herself in a dusty mirror, she grins.

“You look nice,” Dina says, placing her hands on Ellie’s waist from behind and pressing a kiss against her cheek. “Although I didn't mind having you shirtless.” She reaches up and pulls the tag out of the back of Ellie’s new t-shirt. “And you definitely need a medium.”

Taking a step away, Ellie pulls the tag back in, feeling almost petulant.

“I like this size,” she defends her choice, enjoying the way the blue fabric hangs a little loosely from her frame.

Dina shakes her head, but she doesn't try to change Ellie’s mind. Probably because she knows it would be futile.

“Let’s find you a flannel that goes with that color,” she says instead, her hands wrapping around Ellie’s. The moment feels blissful, and Ellie briefly forgets that the world they live in is a cruel place. She relishes in the love she feels, and tugs Dina closer.

“I don't smell like infected gunk anymore,” she says triumphantly, her arms curling around Dina’s waist.

Dina smirks, her right hand dancing across Ellie’s sternum.

“Now you just smell like old cotton,” she teases, before tapping her forefinger against Ellie’s chin. “But it’s marginally better, I suppose.”

She tips up on her toes, only for Ellie to duck away at the last second and blow a raspberry against Dina’s neck.

“Ellie!”

With a laugh, Ellie moves out of her girlfriend’s embrace before Dina’s fist can make contact with her chest.

-

“How do you like this one?” Ellie tugs the flannel a little closer to her frame and inspects it critically, trying to figure out if it will go with the rest of her wardrobe. She has a _look_ to keep up, after all, even though she’d never admit it.

“It’s hot,” Dina says approvingly, reaching out with both hands so she can roll up first one and then the second of Ellie’s sleeves. “I think you should wear it all the time.” She leans in close. “With nothing else underneath.”

A blush spreads across Ellie’s nose.

“Shut up,” she says shyly, tugging at the dark green fabric she’s just put on.

With a grin, Dina drags her left hand along Ellie’s right forearm, her nails barely digging into the skin there. Goosebumps break out where her fingers make contact, and Ellie regrets not taking Dina up on her offer of a kiss earlier.

“Maybe we can try that outfit later tonight,” Dina says suggestively, taking Ellie’s hand and tugging at it until she can place Ellie’s hand on her own butt. “If you’re not too tired after all the raiding.”

Her words don’t help Ellie’s blush. Even though they’ve been dating for close to two months at this point and have had sex a few times, Ellie still can’t quite make her brain work properly whenever Dina teases her like this. It feels unfair, because she wants to reciprocate. She wants to give her girlfriend a bit of her own medicine, but she’s never quite sure _how_ to make her body work right to be suggestive.

Most of the time, she just feels gangly and awkward when she tries hitting on Dina.

“Is that a challenge?” Ellie asks, hoping her voice doesn’t sound as shaky as she feels.

“Might be,” Dina says as the fingers of her right hand find their way under Ellie’s t-shirt and stroke along her stomach. Involuntarily, Ellie’s abdominal muscles tighten, and she pulls Dina closer by her butt. Now Dina is blushing, too, and Ellie tries not to feel like she’s dying from embarrassment and arousal.

Before she can decide what to do next, Dina pulls her fingers out from under Ellie’s tee and curls them around Ellie’s neck instead to drag her into a kiss. It's a little awkward at first because Ellie doesn't expect the sudden movement, causing their noses to bump against each other a little too forcefully to be comfortable.

They both laugh instead of pulling away, and Ellie takes the opportunity of distraction to move both of her hands to Dina’s waist. It doesn't take much to push her up against the wall, right next to the mirror.

Now Dina’s cheeks are flushed red with pleasure, and Ellie finally feels like she’s making an impact on her girlfriend’s teasing demeanor. When she grabs Dina’s waist a little tighter and presses her harder against the cold concrete, Dina lets out a noise that makes Ellie feel weak in the knees. It’s a desperate sort of whine that never fails to strip Ellie completely bare.

Their kisses grow harder and heavier, and Ellie wonders briefly if they should really be making out right now.

She has no idea why Joel keeps letting them go off together.

He should really know better at this point.

-

By the time the group gets back together, Ellie and Dina have mostly reassembled themselves, though Joel still looks at them strangely when they show off the items they were supposed to gather. His eyes linger somewhere below Ellie’s jaw, and she has to work very hard not to rub self-consciously at the back of her neck.

“Nice new shirt,” he comments, before throwing Dina a disapproving look. “Thought I told ya to stop distractin’ her outside the walls.”

With a smile, Dina leans her elbow on Ellie’s shoulder and half-shrugs.

“I’m only human.”

When Joel shakes his head, Ellie wonders which part of her outfit gave away that she and Dina got up to something entirely unsavory in one of the old, abandoned changing rooms. And why Dina’s friend Misty sends her a wink behind Joel’s back.

When they leave the building, Ellie checks her appearance in one of the old windows.

The second she spots the giant hickey, she scowls.

Dina just kisses her cheek.

-

“Babe,” she hears faintly, like a gentle kiss, like the first rays of sunshine peeking through the morning fog. “I’ll be downstairs, making some breakfast.” A hand settles on her cheek, stroking sweetly along her skin before a pair of lips settles against her forehead.

She smiles dreamily.

“Fuck, you’re cute,” the voice whispers lovingly, before the warm touch moves away, replaced by the sound of feet moving along the floor, which culminates in a door being opened and shut.

Feeling warm and soft and comfortable, Ellie doesn’t open her eyes for another fifteen minutes. She barely even realizes that time has passed at all, and when she rolls onto her back, her hand reaches out for Dina behind her, only to realize that she’s not there anymore. The immediate dread that fills her at the sleepy realization quickly moves on when Ellie remembers the almost ghostlike memories of a kiss pressed to her forehead alongside the promise of food.

Letting out a soft breath through her nose, Ellie moves onto her other side and buries her face in Dina’s pillow, taking a moment to herself to breathe in her scent. It soothes her, and she curls up into a ball, squeezing her eyes shut tight and pushing out the tension that usually comes with waking up.

When she sits up, she stretches her arms above her head and lets out a long, drawn out moan as her back pops and cracks. She only realizes she isn’t wearing a shirt by the time she grabs the door handle. Rubbing her left eye, she concedes to herself that maybe she shouldn’t leave her room in this state, even if Joel isn’t set to return from guard duty until noon. She doesn’t feel self-conscious in her nakedness around Dina anymore, but sometimes people made a habit of dropping by unannounced, and Ellie doesn’t feel like scrambling to cover herself just because Mrs. Nesbitt from next door might want to have a chat with her about pruning her rose bushes again.

Slowly, she shuffles over to the pile of clothes on the floor. It’s a mess of jumpers, jeans and jackets, a mix of hers and Dina’s all tossed in the same corner. She barely even pays attention to what she’s picking up, which is why she ends up in a maroon t-shirt that’s a bit too small on her. It has some sort of logo stamped on the front, old and faded with time. Feeling too lazy to take it off again, she grabs a pair of socks from the floor too and puts them on while sitting on the bed. The kitchen tiles could be damn cold in the morning.

By the time she’s finally dressed in a t-shirt, a pair of boxers and a pair of socks, she feels comfortable enough to leave her bedroom. She’s tying her hair up in a small ponytail by the time she reaches the kitchen.

She stops almost dead in her tracks when she sees Joel sitting at the kitchen table, a plate of eggs in front of him and a bandage wrapped around his left hand. Next to him, Dina stands at the stove, cooking up some more eggs and frying a few vegetables in a pan next to them.

“Mornin’,” Joel grunts at Ellie when she steps inside, his eyes lingering on her for only a moment before going back to his plate.

“Hey,” Ellie replies, feeling only slightly underdressed in the face of Dina and Joel’s fully clothed bodies. When did her girlfriend even find the time to get dressed? With a spark of joy, Ellie realizes belatedly that Dina is wearing _her_ jeans. They hang loosely from her hips, barely clinging on despite the belt she’s wearing.

“Hey, baby,” Dina greets her with a smile, letting go of her spoon for a moment to wave Ellie over for a kiss. “Sleep well?”

“Mhmm,” Ellie hums in agreement, placing a hand on Dina’s waist when she goes back to cooking. Looking over to Joel, Ellie leans her cheek against the side of Dina’s head, enjoying her closeness. “What happened to your hand, old man?”

With a grumble into his own beard, Joel gives his own hand an exasperated look.

“Tommy let Natalie have the nail gun again,” he says by way of explanation, and Ellie sighs in sympathy.

“He’ll learn one of these days,” Dina says, shooing Ellie over to the table with a few claps to her butt. “Probably when someone finally loses a limb.” She places the pan of veggies on a table mat, before scooping the eggs onto her and Ellie’s plates.

For a few minutes, the three of them eat in silence, and Ellie has half a mind to eat with her eyes closed because she’s still feeling sleepy. The night before, she and Dina had stayed up for quite a while. At first, they’d just been talking about the new dating dynamics in the compound. Then, one thing had led to another and they’d ended up making love for far too long for Ellie to be awake at this hour.

“I like these on you,” Dina says gently when Joel gets up to wash his plate. Her eyes are glued to Ellie’s right foot, which is resting on the seat of her chair, her leg folded, knee pressed against Dina’s thigh.

Looking down, Ellie notes with mild surprise that she’s wearing the fuzzy blue and yellow socks that Dina had scavenged for herself a few weeks ago. The sight of them on her own feet, looking as ridiculous as they do, makes Ellie close her eyes and sigh in embarrassment.

Dina kisses her shoulder.

“You're so adorable.” The compliment is whispered, almost like it's a precious secret that Dina is cradling to her chest.

Before Ellie can refute her statement, Joel passes by them and ruffles her hair.

“I'll catch some shut-eye. Thanks for breakfast, kiddo,” he says with a smile to Dina, ignoring the indignant huff Ellie lets out.

A wink is Dina’s only reply to his words, and he leaves the kitchen to walk upstairs without another word, although he squeezes Ellie’s shoulder in silent support.

“I hate you both,” Ellie says, before stuffing another forkful of eggs and veggies into her mouth. She’s steadfastly ignoring the sappy look on Dina’s face, or the warm hand on her knee.

“Sorry, I can't take you seriously while you're wearing those socks.” In a second, Dina’s arms are slung around Ellie’s chest, and her face is pressed against Ellie’s shoulder. “You're just too cute in them.”

Ellie accepts the affection with a dismissive grunt.

To herself, she thinks that maybe wearing fuzzy socks might not be such a bad thing after all. Not if it gets her this reaction.

And, if she’s being honest, they're pretty comfortable, too.

**Author's Note:**

> i just need smth sweet ok i need it. the game is gonna hurt meee, i can feel ittt
> 
> if you want to support me, find me on tumblr @goshdarnitjay
> 
> xoxo
> 
> **Prompt(s)** : "Ellie waking up to Joel and Dina having breakfast together. Bonus if Ellie is only wearing shorts and a t-shirt and feels all underdressed and stuff → fuzzy socks → “Shopping” aka looting a walmart for the finest flannels - modeling the flannels"


End file.
